Oregon Game Project Challenge Coach...

12/10/2010

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Oregon Game Project Challenge Coach Workshop

Presented by: Your Name

Agenda• 2011 Season Overview

• OGPC Mission

• Forming Your Team

• Registering Your Team

• Equipping Your Team

Oregon Game Project Challenge Coach Workshop | November 29, 2010

• Managing Your Team

• Tournament Judging

• Contact Information

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2011 Season Overview

• December 13, 2010: Theme Announced

• January 10, 2011 ‐ Registration Opens

– Register online: http://techstart.org/ogpc

– Registration fee: $50

• March 14, 2011: Registration Closes

• March 1 through April 1 2011


• March 1 through April 1, 2011

Game Concept Document Accepted

• April 30, 2011 – Tournament at Chemeketa CC

OGPC Mission

• OGPC is not just about programming a gameOGPC is not just about programming a game and competing in tournaments


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OGPC Mission

• Teach General Life Skills• Teach General Life Skills

– Project Planning

– Time Management

– Teamwork

– Cooperation


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– Communication

– Responsibility

OGPC Mission

• Teach Specific Technical Skills• Teach Specific Technical Skills

– Program Planning

– Design

– Coding

– Testing


g

– Creating Sprites

– Creating Sound Effects

– Documentation

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• Show How Much FUN a Team Project Can Be!!

OGPC Mission

– Allow some social time along with the work time

• Team Members Do the Work – It is THEIR Project

– Each member has roles and responsibilities

• Open their minds to the possibility of a


• Open their minds to the possibility of a technical career choice

– A project like this can change a life choice

Forming Your Team

• How many members do you need?y y

• Difference between the coach and the mentors

• Where will you meet?

• Other adults to work with the team

h


• Ethics

• General Advice

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Forming Your TeamHow many members do you need?

h l f d• High initial interest may fade• Eventually team must stabilize at 4‐7 team members at either the high

school level or 4‐7 members at middle school level. – Note: Mixed teams must register as high school teams

• 4 students may be the “ideal”• Sub‐groups of 1‐2 students can work in parallel

– Research the theme – Learn programming techniques


Learn programming techniques– Develop graphics– Develop sound effects– Prototype a game with “place‐holder” sprites– Work on the presentation

Forming Your TeamAdult team members: Coach and Mentors

• Coach – The person in charge

– Organizes the team

– Does not need to be a techie

• Mentors – The technical gurus

– Provides technical advice


– Provides the technical basics

• One person can play both roles

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Forming Your TeamCoach – the person in charge

• Single point of contact for team• Understands the ogpc program• Management expertise more important than technical expertise– Recruits the team– Registers the team


Registers the team– Arranges for equipment– Schedules meetings– Sets the philosophy and instills team spirit– Is a good role model

Forming Your TeamMentors: The Technical Gurus

• Technical Advisor to assist the coachTechnical Advisor to assist the coach

• Teaches game programming design

• Helps set achievable goals

• Encourages structured problem solving

– Follow typical engineering project models


– Experiment with one variable at a time

• A mentor could be you, a colleague, parent, a high school or college student, an occasional visitor

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Forming Your TeamTeam Ethics

• We are a teamWe are a team• We do the work to find the solutions with guidance

from our coaches and mentors.• We honor the spirit of friendly competition• What we discover is more important than what we win• We share our experiences with others

We displa gracio s professionalism in e er thing e


• We display gracious professionalism in everything we do

• We have fun

Forming Your TeamGeneral Advice to all Adults

• This is the students’ project, not yours

• Be a good role model

• Keep a positive attitude

• Encourage teamwork and insist on mutual respect

• Don’t over emphasize “winning” – demonstrating a solution at a tournament is success

• Encourage the process, not just the finished product


– Teams should still attend even if parts of the game are not finished.

• Help kids keep project in scope of the short season – they will have more ideas than time!

• Have fun

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Registering Your Team

All i t ti d t d t ill b• All registration and support documents will be posted at http://techstart.org/ogpc


Registering Your Team

O J 10 2011• Opens: January 10, 2011

• Closes: March 14, 2011

• Web address: http://techstart.org/ogpc

• $50 registration fee

Fi C Fi S d REGISTER EARLY!!


• First‐Come‐First‐Served, so REGISTER EARLY!!

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Equipping Your Team

•What resources do you need to get started?

•Software Warnings•Software Warnings

•Example budget

•Possible sources of funding


Equipping Your TeamChoosing the Track

• Two tracks available• Two tracks available

– Open (any platform, program for any device)

– Game Maker


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Equipping Your TeamResources to get you started

• A copy of Game Maker 7 or 8 – or your chosen software for Open DivisionOpen Division

• Game Maker Free Edition (http://yoyogames.com/gamemaker); Pro Edition ($25)

• Other software Platform (price will vary)

• A laptop computer (teams should bring this to the competition)


• Game Maker requires Windows XP, Vista, or 7

• A place to meet and work (Classroom, Family room, Garage, Community Room)

Equipping Your TeamSoftware Warnings

• School security may not game development tools to be installed or run on school equipment

– Consider using personal laptops

– Game Maker runs nicely from a Flash drive

– Provide a way to share work

• Flash drives, email, Google docs etc

– Teach kids to save versions as they go


y g

– Backup progressive versions to a safe place

• Teach about copyright laws regarding sprites, photos, code, etc.

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Equipping Your TeamExample Team Budget

• Registration Fee: $50Registration Fee: $50

• Game Maker: $0 (Lite) or $25 (Pro) or Other Software Cost for Open Track

• Transportation: ________________

• Total:


Total: ________________________

• Extras: team shirts, snacks, etc

Equipping Your TeamPossible Sources of Funding

Having some portion of Having some portion of

Fundraising Activities

Team Sponsors

costs picked up by team costs picked up by team members gives a sense members gives a sense of commitmentof commitment


TechStart Scholarship

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Managing Your Team

• Organize Your Team Meetings

• Team Kick‐Off Meeting

• Parent Involvement

• Getting Started with Team Members

• Learning Opportunities


• Software Development Cycle

• Making Progress

Managing Your TeamOrganizing Your Team Meetings

• How often and how long to meetHow often and how long to meet– Most teams meet 2‐3 times per week – After school, evenings, weekends as team desires– Some add extra time as they get closer to end

• > 1 hr (set up and take down)• < 3 hrs (attention span)

• At least 2 adults present during meetings – can use parents who take turns


who take turns• Set ground rules ‐‐ e.g. Don’t have kids walk home by

themselves after dark, cell phones during meetings,…• Refreshments / snacks

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Managing Your TeamTeam Kick‐Off Meeting

• Consider inviting parentsConsider inviting parents

• Set expectations with both

– Goals

– Season

– Milestones


– Time Commitment

– Team Commitment

• Explain the real situation to the parents

Managing Your TeamParent Involvement

• Explain program/philosophy • Explain team rules• Explain team rules• Discuss participation commitment for team members• Review costs and funding sources• Communicate about tournament• Solicit help – Roles for parents

– Car Pooling– Snacks


Snacks– Coordinate Fund Raising– Publicity– End of Season Party

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Managing Your TeamGetting Started with Team Members

• Set Team Goals

• Decide responsibilities– Can rotate, especially near beginning

– Usually will want to be fixed as near tournament

– Need backup roles due to absences

• Set milestones – use project management analogyS t d t f h h f j t t k t k


– Set dates for each phase of project to keep on track

– Include design, build, test, REWORK

• Encourage participation in a team environment

Managing Your TeamLearning Opportunities

• Encourage risk takingEncourage risk taking– “If you never fail, you never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein

– Key is to manage the risk

• Encourage experimentation

• Expect failure – focus on what is learned as a result


• Problem solving takes time – Edison tried thousands of different materials to come up with the light bulb filament

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Managing Your TeamSoftware Development Cycle

• Defining problemDefining problem

• Brainstorming

• Evaluating alternatives

• Choosing alternative

• Implementing


• Implementing

• Evaluating & testing

Managing Your TeamMaking Progress

• Skill Builders or Templatesp

• Simple Games to focus on a Concept

– Examples found in free on‐line tutorials

• Learning Exercises

– Motion Control


– Collisions

– Game Flow

– Levels of Difficulty

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• Build a Foundation

• Introduce techniques and concepts– Build or bring demos

– Discuss advantages and disadvantages

– Let kids figure out how to apply concept to Challenge

• If meetings start before Challenge is announced, can i i h ll t i t d t


use mini‐challenges to introduce concepts

• One approach: use 5‐10 minutes at start of each meeting to introduce concepts


• Sample Concepts• Sample Concepts– Use of a theme

– Game Flow

– Consistency and Variation

– Scoring System

– Use of Animations

– Graphics


Graphics

– Testing

– Documentation

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• Hard Skills

M h i l D i

• Soft SkillsTi li• Mechanical Design

• Programming

• Software Design

• Analysis

• Problem Solving

• Experimentation

• Documentation

• Timeliness

• Teamwork

• Tact and Compromise

• Confidence

• Courtesy

• Perseverance

• Planning

• Positive Attitude


• Computer Graphics

• Testing

• Human Interface

Turn these youths into engineers!!


• Game Designer

• Graphics & sounds

• Testing

M k ti (P t ti )

• Rooms

• Levels

• Scoring

R h

Divide and Conquer - Examples


• Marketing (Presentations) • Research

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Tournament Judging

Prepare Your Team for the Tournament Judging


Tournament JudgingMany Awards Your Team Can Win

• Champion

• Game Experience

• Game R&D

• Presentation

• Programming

T k


• Teamwork

• Rookie Team Award

• and more……

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Tournament JudgingTeam Performance Judging Interview

Presentation & Teamwork AwardPresentation & Teamwork Award

– Engineering requires Research skills and presentation skills

• (remember the marketing kid? )

“The Bizness”


2nd Place Teamwork Award

ogpc 1.0

Tournament JudgingTechnical Judging Interview

Programming Award

• Panel of “experts” interviews teams

• Prepare the team by:

– Encourage ALL members to participate in presentation responsibilities.

– Practice speaking in front of a group

Game Research & Development AwardGame Experience Award


– Learn how to listen to “judges” questions and respond or pass them off to a teammate

– Focus the presentation on how the game meets the requirements of the challenge

– Personalize the presentation

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Tournament JudgingOur Mailing Lists

• OGPC Interest List

– All volunteers – you can opt out

– We add you when you express interest

• OGPC Coaches List

– Coaches and mentors are added when you register o r team


register your team

– Communication from OGPC to registered coaches – very important channel!

Tournament JudgingNext Steps

• Get on the ogpc interest list by sending an• Get on the ogpc interest list by sending an email to [email protected]

• Register your team during Winter 2010

• Start recruiting your team

• Download the free version from


http:www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker (or use software of your choice in open division)– Start playing with tutorials from that site

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Tournament JudgingEverybody Leaves a Winner


Contact Information

• Email: [email protected]

• Phone: (503) 228‐5440

• Web: http://techstart.org/ogpc


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